Much Needed Rain

by R. G. Oram

  Slowly letting the man go, fearing his grip would become too tight, he steered a stumbling Harris Jnr back to the chair and comfortably relaxed onto his original seat.

  ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll talk. As long as you don’t do that again,’ gasped Harris rubbing his chest profusely. He continued, ‘I didn’t kill anyone and my name’s not Jerome.’

  ‘Excuse me?’ Lewelyn quizzed sceptically. His clenched fists still wanted to strike.

  ‘Honest shit!’ he sighed heavily as if relinquishing himself of sin. ‘The name’s Shaun all right. Shaun Price. I’m a stunt double.’

  ‘Carry on.’

  ‘My name’s Shaun and I’m an actor’s double. Some big shot actors hire lookalikes to do all the stunts for them on set. Other times we’re asked to smile to the cameras while the real one does whatever the hell they want. I’m a double for Jerome Harris.’

  ‘Why would he need a double? Jerome Harris doesn’t act.’ Lewelyn fuelling himself to get up once more.

  ‘Look, I went to an audition. They were asking for a young Malcolm Harris’. I needed to eat so I went to the audition. Then this other guy comes up to me after I finished my take. Asks me if I wanted a job. I ask him what kind of job. He tells me one that would give me my own house and a steady income. I said sure as long as it wasn’t anything weird. Asked me if I had ever been arrested. Told him no. Then after that, he said there was some stuff to do before I started. Told me I needed to change the style of my hair. Said my height was okay. I needed to eat a little less. I didn’t know what to think at first. Then they showed me the perks and I was all for it. The house, credit card with no limit, what everybody wants right? It was like I won the lottery. I said yes there and then. They went over the details, the conditions you might say. I had to live outside LA and never go there unless told. I was given a phone, not allowed to call out, only answer it. Said I’d be told where to meet and then they’d fill me in on the rest. Understand me pal, I’m just an actor pretending to be someone else and that’s not a crime last time I checked.’

  This definitely isn’t Jerome Harris, Lewelyn concluded.

  ‘Did you know about the murder?’

  Shaun turned his head left and right quickly – he seemed to be less restrictive.

  ‘No. First time I heard about it was when I was damn near arrested the other day. Almost had a heart attack.’

  ‘I know I saw it,’ Lewelyn admitted.

  Shaun’s chin raised a touch, ‘You were there?’

  ‘Behind the mirror.’

  ‘Shit you’re with them. You’re a cop.’

  ‘Not exactly. Anyway how long have you been doing this?’

  ‘About a year.’

  ‘Okay… How many times have you been to LA?’

  ‘So far only that one time.’

  That was a relief to Lewelyn, hopefully it meant that there were no more victims – hopefully.

  Shaun prompted Lewelyn with a question.

  ‘Wanna know how they found me?’

  David swiped his hand outward, pointing it away from both men.

  ‘I’m guessing it wasn’t that hard. They probably found your profile on some free social networking site. Or they used one of those apps which lets you search for your doppelganger. Not that hard to find somebody these days.’

  ‘You got some brains man,’ Shaun raised his eyebrows, producing temporary wrinkles on his forehead.

  ‘Not really, I just look for the logic in things.’

  As Lewelyn was about to continue he heard a car door outside close. He listened to the footsteps of the vehicle’s owner, only able to rely on sound to judge the person’s path outside. David moved his gaze to the alcove where the house’s front door existed behind.

  Shaun interrupted Lewelyn’s noise investigation.

  ‘Relax. He lives in the house next to mine. Always late getting home. Works on the highways.’

  Lewelyn switched back to watching Shaun, but maintaining a sharp auditory sense.

  ‘Tell me, do you know Jerome?’

  ‘Met him once. The other guy who hired me said I should meet the man I was playing. He was weird. When I started talking to him it was like talking to a wall. He talked a bit, except it was to himself. I couldn’t wait to get away from him.’

  ‘What about his dad?’

  ‘Malcolm? Guy’s an ass. No wait, a tight ass and a cheap ass.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Lewelyn asked.

  ‘Well, I asked him to come over today or should I say yesterday? I broke the cell phone rules cause I wanted more cash. For the risks I was taking for someone else. Nobody said I’d be sharing a room with cops. I could have ended up in jail because of that spoiled brat.’

  This must have been when Malcolm Harris took his car and drove it out here. Lewelyn looked at his watch. That was now yesterday, both the clock’s hands had long past twelve.

  ‘What did he say to that?’

  ‘Got pissed. Best word to describe it. Started to give me the “I’ve been grateful what you’ve done speech”. Wasn’t going to fall for it. Told him I want to see more green or else. Then he left.’

  ‘You’re kidding?’

  Shaun smirked – now he seemed to enjoy having the answers and his self confidence was evidently growing.

  ‘No, told him what I wanted and that was it. You want something, you take it.’

  Lewelyn was shocked by the man’s ignorance, stupidity even; and that gave the body language expert an inclination it was nearly time to leave the room.

  ‘That was idiotic of you,’ Lewelyn speaking his mind.

  ‘Little harsh, don’t you think?’

  ‘Well I’m not in a good mood. It’s not been a very good week for me. Let’s move on. What about this other guy, the one who hired you.’

  Shaun pressed his lips together, the lower one disappearing altogether. The season of winter had sprung on the young man. Snow formed under the skin blanket. His lower lip quivered again as the self confidence began to tremble.

  ‘Can’t tell you much about him. Always had shades over his eyes. Words. That’s all he was. He talked straight. No subtext. No pause. No tone. He just gave you orders and you followed them. Talked to me like I was in the army.’

  ‘What does he look like?’

  ‘Way taller than you. Tough, full of muscle. The kind of guy you wouldn’t share the sidewalk with unless you were sure he was on your side. Sort of tanned. Short dark hair. Had a USA accent but it wasn’t from around here, I could tell.’

  Nobody Lewelyn knew.

  ‘Anything else?’

  Shaun took a moment to think, which at his speed of mental processing, was actually more like two or three.

  ‘Don’t ask me anymore questions. I’m done talking,’ his mouth became a perfect ‘n’. Shaun shifted his body away from Lewelyn.

  ‘Something happened, didn’t it?’

  ‘Don’t know what you’re talking about ‘pal’.’

  ‘You made a mistake didn’t you?’ David edged forward in his chair.

  ‘Get lost,’ Shaun almost shouted it.

  ‘He doesn’t like insubordination, does he?’

  ‘Out,’ the young man commanded weakly, but Lewelyn stood his ground and added. ‘He sounds to me like a practical guy. Not the kind to give verbal warnings. They’re a waste to him. To make sure you never did it again. He’ll leave you with a memory. And what is the one thing we never forget?’

  Shaun’s face and body glum.

  ‘Pain,’ Lewelyn added in chilled tones.

  The man sitting in front of Lewelyn grabbed the sides of his hair as if he were taking hold of the horns.

  ‘I broke a rule,’ Shaun confessed as a wave of panic began to spread across his downturned face. Lewelyn let him continue.

  ‘I like cities. Like the idea yo
u can spend a day exploring them. I lived in a small town when I was younger. It was so small you could fit everything in one street. So much open space and there was nothing to do. After I got settled in this house here, I just got tired doing the same thing all the time. Instead of having my food delivered and buying stuff online I wanted to just have a day to myself. Got on a bus and went to Hollywood. Spent a whole day there, had a good time.

  ‘When I got home I put all the bags I had on the floor. Turned some lights on. Looked out my window, passed the empty driveway. Poured myself some juice and started up the game on that TV there,’ Shaun pointed at the wall mounted home-cinema screen.

  ‘I put the disc into the console and waited for the start-up screen. Then I had a hand on my throat,’ Shaun proficiently scratched a specific area on his head.

  ‘Thought I was being robbed, until the game I was about to play menu screen lighted up. It was him: the other guy. I couldn’t move, he had me. I… I…’ he hesitated, Lewelyn waited.

  ‘I thought he was going to kill me. His hand went off my throat. But I couldn’t move, and he knew that. Out of nowhere, his fist went to my stomach. I didn’t realise you could go that deep in there. You see someone get punched in one of those animated cartoon shows. Their eyes go all white and the puncher’s fist looks like it’ll be coming out the back. That’s what it felt like. When it felt okay to breath again, I took a second to feel if anything inside me had collapsed and I fell down. He didn’t stop there,’ rubbing hands over the face, Shaun trying to stop himself pouring tears.

  ‘I see the sole of his shoe,’ Shaun slaps a hand on his own chair. ‘It comes down and over my head. My face is on the floor, his foot is on it. He… He… He puts his foot down. My head was being crushed into the floor boards. I screamed, as you can imagine. Head being pressed down into the floor, him putting all his weight on me, wanting to turn my head into mash potatoes.

  ‘He didn’t laugh. I wanted him to, cause it would have made sense you know? But he didn’t. All he did was watch. If he had been laughing, then I would’ve known as soon as he stopped enjoying himself then that’s when he’d have stopped squishing me. Being quiet like that made me think he’d never have stopped. I had to hear myself scream with soiled pants. He made me listen to my own suffering. He made me listen.

  ‘Not sure how long he did it for. All I know is I’m still deaf in one ear,’ Shaun turned his head to show Lewelyn his hearing aid.

  ‘Said to me at the end of it, “Never again. Understand?”’

  Lewelyn watched intently as Shaun wiped a thin hand under his nose. All the confidence from meeting with Malcolm Harris earlier today had dissolved, ashamed to feel ashamed at his inability to defend himself. Lewelyn pushed his seat back, giving Shaun more space to breath.

  ‘I don’t think we need to talk anymore,’ Lewelyn said when he stood up.

  Still sitting Shaun asked, ‘What happens now?’

  Lewelyn tried to vision it, ‘I’m not sure. Best guess, you’re an accessory to murder. You helped them. Might not have known about it, but it won’t matter unless you can prove it.’

  Shaun’s face reminded Lewelyn of the famous Edward Munch painting, the one with the open mouth and both hands squeezing the cheeks.

  ‘What should I do?’ Shaun asked pleadingly.

  ‘Look, somebody’s going to jail, that’s obvious, a crime’s been committed and someone has to be punished. But I might be able to help you. I work with the police. If you tell them what you just told me then there’s a chance for you. You just have to give them your name and tell them what you just told me. They need to know this. And if I were you I’d write it all down.’

  Lewelyn omitted the possibility of minor jail time because he couldn’t be sure how it would go.

  ‘I need to think about it,’ Shaun blurted out.

  Lewelyn nodded, he didn’t have anything; it was one of those times where silence was the best therapy.

  He got inside his rented car, not yet starting off. The words he had said to Shaun about what could happen to the man, Lewelyn began to doubt them. The way he had said it, was his honesty too selfish? Had he been too harsh on him after what he had just heard? What else could Lewelyn do? He couldn’t just lie to him and have him believe everything was going to be fine. The truth did hurt, but wasn’t it better to hear a cruel honesty than selfish deception?

  For some reason Lewelyn opened the window of the driver side-door. The crickets letting him know he wasn’t alone in the world. His fingertips on the tag of the inserted ignition key, poised to give life to the machine. Leaving the confines of the motorised derivative of a horse and carriage, once more taking steps over the individual square paves in the grass, voicing his frustrations:

  ‘One of these days my conscience is going to get me killed.’

  Lewelyn stood at Shaun’s front door again, not knocking this time. Entering, finding nothing had changed in the space of five minutes. A standstill, monsoon of videogame cases and a rainbow coloured face. The cartoon Shaun had been watching, before Lewelyn had barged his way in was still on, as each scene changed, the alteration of colours projected on him. In the multi-coloured environment Lewelyn couldn’t decide if Shaun looked more like a husk or ghoul – whichever he thought morphed best with nostalgic dread.

  He must have heard him come in, because neither pupil made contact with Lewelyn’s.

  ‘Look, I don’t know if you’re interested, but I need somebody who doesn’t mind answering phones and taking messages. An office assistant. The job’s yours – only if you go to the police.’

  No teeth emerged, gums fixedly inanimate, Shaun was once again hypnotised by the moving, televised drawings. Lewelyn retreated, closing the door firmly behind him, waiting – in case he caused to hear a sound he didn’t wish for.

  When he reached his car, Lewelyn got in wearily and turned the volume of its radio up to drown his thinking. The engine burst immediately into life at his request and he started his journey, creating as much distance as he could from this place.

  Chapter 35

  He drove home slowly, the car loud with the local late night radio broadcasting station. In his head not a single neuron twitched. The dark, empty road with only headlights to burn through it, repeated the picture on and on, like an old piece of film with the same reel of backdrop. Getting nearer the city, its street lights and neon glow now coloured Lewelyn’s world. Soon he would be back to watching a different and perfunctory reel of film, at least he had more information this time – it was a full picture of something, but what?

  He felt a sudden impulse to call Forsythe, except that could land him in big trouble. What he’d seen would not be admissible as evidence.

  Lewelyn felt he was digging a hole, yet paid no heed to the depth he dug. Somewhat naively he imagined that the deeper he went, then inevitably he would find some secret passage that would lead him to freedom and peace of mind – like a fairy tale with a pot of gold at the end.

  His car resting for the third time in Mulholland, no house lights on, within his field of vision anyway, Harris’s car parked in its favoured spot.

  The observation of the driveway aside, Lewelyn organised his thoughts.

  Shaun, the guy living in that house who looked exactly like Jerome Harris, hired to become his double. When Shaun’s DNA was taken by the police to match it with the sample found at the crime scene, it would not match. Shaun was a mule, being given the dream job and lifestyle and all he had to do was pretend to be someone else.

  It reinforced his belief that Jerome Harris was the killer. The probability that Shaun’s DNA was used in lieu of Jerome’s, heightens the likelihood.

  Lewelyn wondered how this new set of facts impacted Special Agent Damian Peal’s profile. The profile said it was a strong man with combat experience, who had dissociative personality disorder. Everything pointed to Jerome Harris, except for this ‘othe
r guy’ that Shaun mentioned.

  A new question, who is this other guy?

  Grabbing the metal flask, Lewelyn unscrewed the top to pour the dark liquid, coffee flowed into the cup; another day of surveillance already upon him.

  Chapter 36

  Almost a quarter of the way through Sunday, little if no activity since Lewelyn’s return. A car drove past him earlier, heading into the neighbourhood. Then it came back the opposite way and left. Lewelyn didn’t recognise it, a wrong turn most likely.

  Fighting himself, the commanding necessity to sleep gave him one hell of a fight. Just when he thought he was fully awake, the eyes slowly descended and his head patiently tilted downward. To stay in control he focused on a variety of different objects; trying to find something that would ignite a kind of electrical spark, to blow away the intoxicating drowsiness. To the point where only animation could keep him awake, like the car that drove past not too long ago.

  Two beams of light flashed through the SUV, providing the spark Lewelyn wanted. The vehicle continued down the hill. With only red rear lights to give a form of identity, Lewelyn couldn’t name it.

  Switching his attention back to the other cars in the street, all cars accounted for, except, when he came to the last house to check – Malcolm Harris’s drive was missing one, now affording an uninterrupted view of his next door neighbour’s four wheeled, compacted, electric car.

  Twisting the key, almost forcing it past its prescribed range of motion to make the engine turn on faster, Lewelyn jammed it into reverse gear and pressed his foot hard down on the accelerator. Clouds of ground dust blew in the car’s back window. He drove backwards, mounting the tarmac, flipping through the stick and surging forward, searching for a pair of red glowing eyes. It made Lewelyn think of a demon hunt. After a few minutes of impatient throttling, the pair revealed themselves.